Functionalization and densification of inter-bundle interfaces for improvement in electrical and thermal transport of carbon nanotube fibers

Electrical and thermal management in nanodevices by means of carbon nanotube is highly promising. One main challenge toward CNT-based nanoscale electrical and thermal management devices is the development of effective strategies for reducing the bundle–bundle interface resistance. Here we report a novel strategy, based on the densification of CNT bundles and the functionalization of inter-bundle interfaces for effectively enhanced interfacial electrical and thermal transport. The densification is realized by utilizing the local electrostatic cohesion; and the functionalization is realized by the interface-decorated functional groups. Experiments and theoretical analysis demonstrated obviously enhanced interfacial electrical and thermal conductance originates from: (1) local Coulomb electrostatic cohesion between CNT bundles due to surface-induced dipole moments. This effect can promote both electrical and thermal conductance nearly 2.8 times higher than non-functionalized counterpart. (2) Increased interfacial electron transport channels and thermal vibrations due to surface-decorated functional groups. This effect can bring about up to 75% and 95% improvement for thermal and electrical conductance, respectively. This study provides a new methodology for tunable operation of electrical and thermal properties at inter-bundle interfaces and guidance for design of CNT-based electrical and thermal management devices.